I think on many trailer designs, the air gets disrupted long before it hits either the top or side vents, and prevents the negative pressure. The vent design from Dometic may be counting on that. Escape trailers may be different in this respect, and not disrupt the airflow prior to the vents. I think something to disrupt the air aft of the vents would help to create a stagnation point at the vent opening. Its possible that doing this for only the side vent would help ensure the air is flowing properly when the trailer is underway.

NJ Joe,
Thanks for the suggestion. I took a picture of the side with some measurements. Curious what shape, size and location you are suggesting aft of the vent? (it's about 20'Lx6.5'H, projects 3/4"- and located 9' back)

I think taking some measurements to determine what is actually happening would be a good first step. taping some yarn to the side of the trailer near the vent may give you an indication of whether the airflow has been disrupted prior to reaching the vent. Also, Eagle Tree Systems makes a data logger for RC airplanes that could be used to capture some data. They have both an airspeed and altimeter sensor, which would allow you to log both static and dynamic pressure. They also have several types of temperature sensors that would be useful as well. Total cost would be in the $150 - $200 range.

As far as disrupting the airflow aft of the side vent, my initial thought was that a piece of angle aluminium attached to the rear of the vent would work. However, i don't really have any solid experience or data to base this on so I have sent your picture off to someone who does. It may be a week or so before that person is able to look at this.

I think taking some measurements to determine what is actually happening would be a good first step. taping some yarn to the side of the trailer near the vent may give you an indication of whether the airflow has been disrupted prior to reaching the vent. Also, Eagle Tree Systems makes a data logger for RC airplanes that could be used to capture some data. They have both an airspeed and altimeter sensor, which would allow you to log both static and dynamic pressure. They also have several types of temperature sensors that would be useful as well. Total cost would be in the $150 - $200 range.

As far as disrupting the airflow aft of the side vent, my initial thought was that a piece of angle aluminium attached to the rear of the vent would work. However, i don't really have any solid experience or data to base this on so I have sent your picture off to someone who does. It may be a week or so before that person is able to look at this.

Hi Joe,
Great idea, I can hang the yarn on plastic suction cups just like I did on our sail boats, that will bring back fond memories!

Amazing you can get the data logger that inexpensively, I hadn't thought of the RC aircraft suppliers. Maybe I can find turbo charger(s) to install in my new air box and duct

Thanks for sending off the picture, I've got til late January when the weather is good enough for our I-5 boogey to south Cali and then head east : )

I've mentioned this before, but it might be worth bringing it up again. I had problems with my 5 cu ft fridge shutting down while driving (when on propane). I tried a number of things - what seemed to fix the problem was completely sealing the top & sides of the rear of the refrigerator from the opening, and adding a mesh furnace filter to the lower vent.

I still have a problem keeping the refrigerator under 40°F when the outside temperature is over 100°F; I may try adding the heater chimney...

I've mentioned this before, but it might be worth bringing it up again. I had problems with my 5 cu ft fridge shutting down while driving (when on propane). I tried a number of things - what seemed to fix the problem was completely sealing the top & sides of the rear of the refrigerator from the opening, and adding a mesh furnace filter to the lower vent.

I still have a problem keeping the refrigerator under 40°F when the outside temperature is over 100°F; I may try adding the heater chimney...

Thanks for the reminder, that seems to be 'proof' the side vent can draw out and/or create turbulence that degraded refrig cooling? Using a furnace filter is clever as they come in various thickness. I'll jot that down on my list.

Would be nice to have your frig performance .... my 6.7 was in the mid 40's when temps were in the high 80's. I'm sure it will be better after these mods, hope it's worth the work but the 6.7 is a wimpy unit out of the box.

FYI - I asked Reace a couple questions and received a reply last Friday (11/14/2014) (I really appreciate the replies I receive from Reace and ETI, awesome customer service compared with the robots and polite but uninformed reps at other firms ...)

My question "Status of Refrigerator ‘improvements’. Have you switched to a different model? Where are we at?"

Reply from Reace "The latest I have heard is the tooling for the new door is scheduled to be ready in ‘week 42’ and we should see parts shortly after that.